“Not again… S-stop… Stop burning…” she mumbled.

Instead of wallowing in her victory, the girl’s eyes were listless. Her hands shivered as she looked ahead at the spell she just cast. Two warm streams trickled down her face as she sagged down to the ground.

As if remembering something, she looked towards Yuan Mo and shouted, “G-Grandpa, help! Fast!”

But the old man was faster. Before she could complete her plea, a sound of wood striking against hard rock swept through the air. The heat around Samuel began dissipating as if a pot of boiling water met ice. The flames burning around Samuel began dimming, before finally snuffing out of existence.

Samuel looked down to find his robes glittering with green patterns, forming a thin membrane of protection around him, keeping him safe from the flames.

Looking stunned, he asked, “What happened?”

Instead of answering, Yuan Mo helped Shi Mei up before patting her shoulder. “Little Mei, nothing happened. He’s alright. Don’t worry.”

Wiping her eyes, the girl got up, looking at Samuel standing there, looking at her cluelessly.

“A-are you hurt?” She asked.

Samuel stared at her blankly. A moment later, he smiled and replied, “I’m just fine. If you want to continue fighting, I don’t mind going for another few rounds.”

Inwardly, he thought, ‘Of course I’m not alright?! Why do you think I would be?! My heart is still beating like a goddamn drum. On top of that, my hands and feet hurt like hell. Where the heck does your power come from?! And you know what? Don’t say yes to fighting. If you say… Not like I can do anything. Just don’t say it.’

The girl nodded, causing the boy’s heart to sink.

‘She wants to keep fighting?! Just why?! Stop already! Don’t you know what speaking courteously means?’ Looking at the little girl before him, Samuel almost cried. However, he forced himself to keep a straight face as he nodded back.

Turning to Yuan Mo, Shi Mei said, “Grandpa, I don’t feel like continuing to fight. Let’s call it a draw. I’m tired. I’ll go to sleep first.”

Hearing her words, Samuel’s face twitched as he barely held back a smile.

“Wait,” Yuan Mo stopped the girl.

Clasping her palm in his own, he raised her hand up, pushing the sleeve covering it back, revealing the girl’s tender arm wrapped around by five rings, all made up of a thick black chain.

Samuel’s brows furrowed, but he kept his silence.

Rubbing his fingers over one of the chains, he said, “Little Mei, we would have to replace this one. I’ll ask your Uncle Zhu to do it, alright? Before then, don’t use any spells. Alright?”

“Yes, Grandpa. I won’t use any spells. I don’t want the same thing to happen again.” Shi Mei retracted her hand back before leaving, her head lowered.

After she disappeared into the house in the distance, Samuel heaved a long breath before plopping down on his butt. Resting his hand on his knee, he asked, “High Prie — I mean, Teacher Yuan Mo — what just happened?”

Not looking back towards Samuel, the old man replied, “She lost control.”

“Lost control?” Samuel continued asking.

Yuan Mo sighed before replying, “That girl inherited the best from her parents and seems to have the blessing of our god. For someone her age, she has always exhibited an abnormal amount of power, to the point where even some of the elders from the council are no match for her. But she lacks control. She is just too young to contain and control all that power. All she can do is wait patiently and grow up. Remember seeing the tower in the centre of the monastery?”

Samuel’s eyes contracted as he remembered the scenery at the upper levels of the tower. He blurted, “You mean she did all that?”

Yuan Mo nodded. “Yes. That day, her energy suddenly went berserk, and she almost destroyed the tower. And since it’s the tower in the middle, it’s obviously made from the best we can find. You can imagine how sturdy that thing is.

“When the floor melted, it burned and buried over half of our cumulative wealth. But that’s not the worst. In the incident, over seventy people died and both Little Zhu and I got seriously injured. And ever since then, she blames herself for all this. All that led to infighting, you see, and is causing the monastery to decline.

“Ever since then, she started wearing those chains, both to remind her of that day and to help her keep her power contained. As for the chains on her hand, they’re the iron-grade chains of binding. Thinking about all this makes me feel I didn’t do a good job in raising her.”

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Samuel asked, “What’re the chains of binding?”

Yuan Mo answered, “Back in the day, to suppress convicts, the people of that era made chains out of a material which absorbs arcana and slows down the flow of it in the wearer’s body, anywhere from twofold to tenfold. And because Arcana and Ki both repel each other, after a while of wearing, the chains also slow the flow of Ki within the body as well, making it a perfect tool to bind down those criminals.

“Overtime, people realised that something like it is not only suitable to suppress criminals but also for other purposes. For example, slowing down the flow of their own energy, be it to help with certain medical treatments, practice control, or simply control berserk flows like Little Mei does.

“Although they’re excellent at what they do, the chains had their own problems. For example, the time they need to fill up, inability to change the amount of suppression or simply the cost of materials and getting it forged. More than anything, noble folk see it as a disgrace to wear them. People tried to change the shape as well, but doing so worsened the effect, making it not worth the cost. So in the end, they became less relevant outside of prison cells. It’s natural you don’t know about them.”

Thinking over what the old man said, Samuel asked, “Then—”

However, Yuan Mo cut him off. “Enough on that. Now about your fight. Your moves aren’t bad, but they’re too flashy and have too many openings to speak of. When you attack, if someone can get by, they can easily strike you.

“What more, you get flustered easily when things don’t go your way. You need to keep your calm at all times. There were many opportunities you missed out on. What’s worse, you used spells without even considering what effect they can have on the battle as a whole. From what I know, to mages trained for militant combat, that’s the first thing they’re told of.

“Samuel, we live in the north. And the north is mostly a land of ice and snow. If nothing else, just look at the mountains around. Even with the approaching Season of Scorch, they’re still all covered with thick snow. And you turned the ground into ice. You were practically asking Little Mei to beat you up.

“And although you can use the bloodline ability you inherited from your father’s side, it’s not enough. Your control over it is too weak. On top of that, it exhausts you a lot. What more, I don’t think you used it consciously. Instead, it seemed like your body’s reaction to danger.

“Still, for someone who couldn’t train well, good work. Remember, your power is like a weapon, and it depends on you, the wielder, to use it to its full effect. A man who has just a stick but knows how to use it is far more dangerous than someone who has a sword like that but doesn’t even know how to swing it properly.

“Although your techniques are crude, you’re still young and have much time to refine them. To be fair, Shi Mei is also the same. It’s just that she had a slight head start and spent more time developing her skills.

“Don’t feel dejected because of that. Instead, think like if you can catch up to her one day, another day, you’ll be far ahead of her.”

Hearing Yuan Mo’s words, Samuel solemnly nodded. ‘Catch up with her today, defeat her tomorrow! Definitely! After her, I’ll catch up to dad and beat him as well!’